Show ContentsEwer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Ewer family

The surname Ewer was first found in Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland, that today makes up the Council Areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire.

One of the first records of the name was Adam Urri who appears as burgess of Irvine in 1260 and Huwe Urry of Ayrshire who rendered homage to King Edward I of England in his brief intrusion into Scotland in 1296. Reginald Urry held land in Irvine in 1323 and William Urri resigned the lands of Fulton in 1409. [1]

Another branch of the family was found in the Fetteresso parish, Kincardineshire and for the most part, these names included "de" denoting "of." Hugh de Urre swore fealty at St. John of Perth and later with a different spelling as Hugh Uny at Forfar, 1296. [1] This latter entry is presumably another person rendering homage to King Edward I.

Further south in England where the Hurry, Hurrey and Hurrie variants tends to more popular, early records were typically found in the Latin form: Urrius de la haie c.1148 in Herefordshire; Walter, Herueus Urri in the Curia Regis Rolls for Surrey in 1208 and in the Pipe Rolls for Norfolk in 1209; Gilbert Uri in the Curia Regis Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1214; Alan Hurry in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1219; Geoffrey Orry in the Liber Feodorum for Shropshire in 1235; and later Walter Horry for the Isle of Wight in 1290; and John Ourry in 1297. [2]

Early History of the Ewer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ewer research. Another 180 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1279, 1300, 1302, 1366, 1387, 1619, 1650, 1666, 1677, 1715, 1778 and 1857 are included under the topic Early Ewer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ewer Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Urie, Ure, Urey, Hurry, Hurrie, Horrey, Orrey and many more.

Early Notables of the Ewer family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

  • Isaac Ewer, Ewers or Ewres (died c.1650), was an English soldier probably born in Essex, one of the Regicides of King Charles I of England who later took part in the storming of Drogheda, Ireland and...


United States Ewer migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ewer Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Sara Ewer, aged 28, who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "James" [3]
  • Thomas Ewer, aged 1, who landed in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "James" [3]
  • Thomas Ewer, aged 40, who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "James" [3]
  • Elizabeth Ewer, aged 4, who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "James" [3]
  • Thomas Ewer, who landed in Massachusetts in 1636 [3]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Ewer migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ewer Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Robert Ewer, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749-1752
  • Robert Ewer, who arrived in Nova, Scotia in 1749

Australia Ewer migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Ewer Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Nathaniel Ewer, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Fanny" on 25th August 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [4]

Contemporary Notables of the name Ewer (post 1700) +

  • Seneca Ewer, American politician, Member of California State Assembly 14th District, 1854-55 [5]
  • Bart Ewer, American Republican politician, Chair of Miami County Republican Party, 2011 [5]
  • William Norman Ewer (1885-1976), British journalist
  • Philemon Ewer (1702-1750), English timber merchant and builder of small boats
  • John Ewer (b. 1774), English bishop of Llandaff and bishop of Bangor from Essex
  • Fred Ewer (1898-1971), English footballer from West Ham


The Ewer Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Sans tache
Motto Translation: Without stain.


  1. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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